New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-11-06
AFTER DEATH.
|. THEORY OF NATURAL LAW.

l2mo up 600. Scrtbncr x Wexford.
The extent to which obscure psychological and
,hysioogical problems are being examined and
discussed has received several striking iilustra-
lions recently. In Germany the author of The
Philosophy of the Unconscious' Edward Won Hart
mann has been dcvoting his time TO an lnvestiga-
ton of SpirtualIsm. In England a recent report
stated that Professor Huxley had resolved to ex-
anime the same subject. And French
Positivist man Of science has written this book rs
the contribution of ComtlsD to the discnssIou IL
is interesting 20 note no the line OF every man
inquiries is governed by his previous philo-
sophie Ut scentfc training. Thus Won Hartmann
abored to demonstrate the SUFFICIENTLY of the phe-
nomena be was considering, reiyng mainly upon
the theory of hallucination. On the othcr hanu'
the POsi.iyist writer sets ont BY banlShlng the
supernatural and the metaphvacal. Everything
to HIM is objective. bnt also everything ~ normal
and natural 10 hun. lie does not dispute tho reaitE
of the plcuo rena he il concerned with lie sun
plv asserts that they are the products OF na'uiYI
laws most of which are as Yet UNKNOWN W SUI
ence.
When. therefore. ~ DAssier calls his book a
.'studv Of phantOms" the subtitle is niue his
leading though strictly speaking his TECHNOLOGY
is right He begins by citing facts winch he
considers vel authenticated. These relate TO the
projection of ne Double TO the appearance of what
of mesmcr~rn to hauntncs and obsessioas and
vari,us Other sO-called supernatural appearances
and occurrences But VI. AsSier Is right In declar
ing thai The IDEAS he sets fOri as far removed
from the dreams of mysticism rs from the halu'i-
nations of the Splrtists." Far, lie SAYS Hoih
invoking supernatural cause. u seek 10 olNcoNcr
whether there may not be III living nature some
unfamiliar principle winch. III certaln cases ana
within certain limits, may act a an active ana
jpdependent force" His theory supported MS he
proceeds by cOpious illustrations, is cunousy ike
that which the philosophers of India have held
from time imnemoral. but it Is quite evident that
NJ. DAssicr is entirely innocent of ali Oriental
learning and that he hasrcasOned ont these peculiar
conclusions for himself indie pendenty. In common
with many modern thinkers and some men OF
science he postulates a universal tiud which Is
the matrix of all the natural forces. and at once
the vehicle and the sustainer of life and light.
This pcrvasIve fluid Is vital, nervous magnetic
electric, a differing conditions direct 1t is the
source of mcSmerlc action the solution of the myS-
tories OF medumshp. the agent which produces
the strange phenomena appearing i'll connection
with electric girls" like Angeliqne Coffin II Is
the responsible factor in the perpleXing psychlcal
epdem;cs recorded IN history, such as that OF the
Flagelans that of the infectious community OBJ
sessions of Ireland. Wales. Spain and the South
OF France within the last century; that of the
Convulss lonnaires of st. Medard and generally
speaking OF all widespread psychic agItationS. IN
Guiding the miracles wrought at holy wells
and the tombs of SAINTS and martyrs.
NJ DAssier is a good deal of an Iconoclas His
hook will not be pleasantly received bv the Spirit
ualIsts, and neither will 1T he approved by those
who hold that there is any evidence of imnor-
tallty eXtqnt (: for lie, while actually p0stuating
a kind OF ex seDce beyond the grave. represents
IN, fla | n
which ends sooner or later in the gradual absorp-
ton of the postbumous being into the universal
ether and-,his is the inevitable iDferencehs an
nihilatlon Whether any will think it worth
while to have the fact of pOsthumous existence
so ineenOusy established only that It's
ephemeral nature may be concldsvely demon
strated is perhaps open to question; but 1t
nnfst be admitted that the author has used
his data with singular tact aud skill, and that lie
has compelled the phenomena Of mesmerlsm and
spritualism to do his bidding very adroitly. His
phantoms owe their origin 10 what he calls the
"mesmeric personality This is in effect the
Double 1t is this which, in cases Of ampntated
limbs produces the effect of the severed members.
The Seeress of PrevOTst always used TO see these
phantom limbs on people who had lost legs or
arms 1t IS this Double, which always exists with
in the body that is capable of being projected
under various conditions. Thus it may be pro-
jected at the moment of death or during life under
the stimulus of strong emotion. or in consequence
of some physiological arrangement; or 1t may be
consciously projected by wll-force this theory is
identical with that of the Ia lian 1heosophiss, or
it NAV get outside the body during somnambulism
or even ordinary sleep. 1t is this mesmerc person
ality which does all the wonders OF the seance-
room By absorbing more or less of the pervasive
vital or magnetic fluid IL becomes compact or ten
uous. and thus it may appear effectively in some
cases. and i'll Others-and these the majorIty-re-
main invisible. Depending upon the vital mud Tor
conscious separate existence. this personality may
be started ont at death by the force OF some power
full longing regret or desire, and survive IT'S
original owner a considerable time on the strength
of this stimulus The posthumous phantoms that
haunt houses and make nocturnal noises and annoy
peaceable people in their beds are of this nature.
NJ. D'Assicr finds in the records of spirituallsm
many Facts which he turns TO account. For in
stance. the mesmeric personality, he says. has no
real mind real perception of itself or Its sur
roundngs, and of course no knowledge OF The
future. II may dmly remember the past. 1t may
be galvanized INTO an equally dim recognition OF
the present but that Is all. those who know any
thing OF sprltuasm will recognise IN this descrlp-
tion large class Of the alleged spirits" who are
supposed to bear messages and convey comInnnlca-
D'Assier and the astral shell of the TheosOphiss
ideD teal the difference between the doctrines
being that whereas the French Postivist ends all
life with the dissolution OF tho she'll, the fol-
lowers of Indian Occultlsm carry existence to a
higher plane. ana recognize in the disappearance of
the shell" only the elimination of the gross earthly
principles and desires.
Candid sp.rltualists will perhaps admit that NJ.
DAssiers theory does explain many obscure
phenomena. and that ii surrounds the spirit
hypothesis with new difficulties. Its weak point
Is the failure TO de nonstrate the material existence
of the mcsmeric personality. The only piece OF
evidence on this head is the statement Of the Seer
ess of Prevorst. Yet NJ D'Assier appears to con.
slider that he has fully established his theory and
that is solid enough to erect almost any super,
structure upon. That 1t serves TO give sober and
reasonable explanation to great many facts which
have not hitherto been account ed for
aud that it opens the way for avoidance of that
scientific tendency to elude embarrassing facts by
fiat and ignorant contradiction cannot be denied
Any suggestion which tends to enlarge the
boundaries Of science and TO remind
ha Of Ii that the has